Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

An original filming miniature from the production of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, the famed supermarionation television series created by Gerry Anderson.

This is one of the original filming miniatures of the XQR jet as used in The Trap, flown by Holt with Commodore Goddard, they are killed when the plane is struck by lightning at the beginning of the episode. The XQR jet was made in two different scales for production, this is the large scale hero version measuring 14" in length and is the model seen throughout the opening of the episode, the crash sequence and also as it lands on Cloudbase.

The model is hand carved in jelutong wood, painted and further detailed with automotive tape, common on Anderson miniatures, also featuring two miniature pilots underneath a canopy of plastic. Only one side of the model has had the finer details added to it, it was common practice on production to only dress one side of a miniature to save both time and cost. The futuristic design was that of prolific Anderson designer Mike Trim.

The miniature features a metal tube to the underside of each fin which were used to wire the model for filming, the landing gear is absent and was likely removed after filming the landing shots before filming the main flying scenes, it is not uncommon to film out of sequence depending on requirements, the hole for the landing gear is still visible to the underside. The black markings to the one side of the miniature are heat scorches where the model was set on fire for the crash sequence, this has been partially covered with painted tape to be less noticeable for the miniatures brief appearance in the episode Model Spy.

The piece is in generally excellent condition with only minor paint loss and scorching from its use on production. When the miniature was obtained by The Prop Gallery a section of the rear fin was absent through damage, this has been professionally re sculpted, painted, tape detailed and weathered in a manner sympathetic to the original and blends extremely well with the rest of the model.

Original filming miniatures from Gerry Anderson productions are incredibly rare and this represents a displayable and desirable example of a large scale hero model and a testament to the craftsmanship employed on this ground breaking television series.